WORLD
11th round of Syria peace talks ends in Astana
Baku, November 29, AZERTAC
The 11th round of Syria peace talks in the Astana format concluded on Thursday with a decision to step up joint efforts to prevent violations of the cease-fire in Idlib, Anadolu Agency reported.
The two-day event kicked off with a meeting between representatives of Russia and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime in the Kazakh capital on Wednesday.
On the second day of the meeting, the parties held bilateral and trilateral meetings to agree on a final declaration. At the main session, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kayrat Abdrahmanov read out the final declaration.
It condemned the use of chemical weapons and urged an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of their alleged use in Syria’s civil war.
Turkey, Russia and Iran decided to step up joint efforts to prevent violations of the cease-fire in Idlib, northwestern Syria.
The guarantor countries also agreed to support the Syrian parties establishing a Constitutional Committee in Geneva as soon as possible.
The declaration highlighted the parties’ commitment to Syria's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, underlining that the fight will continue against all kinds of terrorist groups.
It also stressed that protecting the cease-fire in Idlib is important for the fight against terrorism.
Turkey's delegation at the talks -- led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedal Onal -- held meetings with the opposition as well as Russian and Iranian representatives.
The next Astana meeting is set to be held next February.